Hi All,
My son, he's 8 yrs old. Just had his braces on Monday. He's having a really hard time. He can't chew, hard time drinking, talking... I want to know if anyone else's kid experienced something like this. I'm really worried about him. Reason he started this treatment and it might go on for 4 yrs because his jaw is not aligned together (know what i mean?) LOL. I think his next step is putting retainer... OMG - is that going to be even worse? Why braces now when he's not even done with his permanent teeth? Just worried so much about him and feeling so bad for him. :(
8 yr old boy new with braces - HELP
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Idislikebraces
- Posts: 68
- Joined: Fri Mar 24, 2006 1:31 pm
Aww...dont feel bad for him! The pain WILL go away just stick to soft foods nd such Jello's good cause u can just swallow it! But thats one thing I dont understand...bout when parents put braces on their kids even though they havent lost all their teeth! 
It takes longer doesnt it? But thats good cause as soon as he has all his teeth he can prob. get them out!! 
nd be the only one with straight teeth while all the others will suffer! lol 
It takes longer doesnt it? But thats good cause as soon as he has all his teeth he can prob. get them out!! nd be the only one with straight teeth while all the others will suffer! lol August 10, 2005
Ceramic Uppers and Metal Bottoms!
A few months later a Nance Appliance.
anddd nowwww:
De bonding on October 23, 2007!
Ceramic Uppers and Metal Bottoms!
A few months later a Nance Appliance.
anddd nowwww:
De bonding on October 23, 2007!
Are you helping to make your son comfortable with a lot of dental wax? Are you making him very soft foods and encouraging him to chew very slowly and carefully? Have you told his orthodontist what a hard time he is having? If not, please follow these suggestions! There are a lot of ways to make it easier for him. Please read the main ArchWired.com pages (specifically Braces 101) for ideas.
It's a difficult transition, no matter what your age is. In time he will get used to them and they won't hurt him anymore, but you have to do all you can to help him!
Why does he have braces now, before all his permanent teeth have grown in? That is a good question that many parents ask. I assume probably because of his jaw alignment problems. Your orthodontist is doing a "phase one" treatment on him to help make proper room for his adult teeth and assist his palate growth in the proper direction. This will ensure that he doesn't have functional jaw problems when he gets older (which would be much harder to fix and probably involve surgery because at that point the palate would be fused). By intervening now, your orthodontist is ensuring that he has an easier time when he is older.
You should talk to his orthodontist and find out what his treatment plan is, and get details on why your son needs this sort of treatment. Your orthodontist should be willing to sit down and tell you everything. If he doesn't have time during the adjustment session, make a separate appointment to sit down and talk during an "off hour."
It's a difficult transition, no matter what your age is. In time he will get used to them and they won't hurt him anymore, but you have to do all you can to help him!
Why does he have braces now, before all his permanent teeth have grown in? That is a good question that many parents ask. I assume probably because of his jaw alignment problems. Your orthodontist is doing a "phase one" treatment on him to help make proper room for his adult teeth and assist his palate growth in the proper direction. This will ensure that he doesn't have functional jaw problems when he gets older (which would be much harder to fix and probably involve surgery because at that point the palate would be fused). By intervening now, your orthodontist is ensuring that he has an easier time when he is older.
You should talk to his orthodontist and find out what his treatment plan is, and get details on why your son needs this sort of treatment. Your orthodontist should be willing to sit down and tell you everything. If he doesn't have time during the adjustment session, make a separate appointment to sit down and talk during an "off hour."
I'm the owner/admin of this site. Had ceramic uppers, metal lowers ~3 years in my early 40's. Now in Hawley retainers at night!
Sonyg-
[As an open forum, I would like to share my opinion, and YES, I KNOW it will be unpopular, but I would like to voice it.]
I empathize with your concerns for your son. I am in my 40s now, and in my generation, no one got braces before 11 or 12 earliest. And we didn't keel over dead, either. The AOA pushes ortho consults at 7, and I am certain there are clinical reasons, but I think you have a very valid point - at 8 his mouth and teeth are growing so much that no treatment will be permanent, short of maybe an expander.
I am not a dentist or an orthodontist, do please do not think I am trying to give orthodontic advice. I am, unabashedly, sharing the idea that you could take him for a consult at a dental school where they have the full scope of services (potential ortho, surgery, etc) that might be recommended to get a consult that would project long-term, not in the conditional.
As others noted, you need to have a written treatment plan from whoever is in charge of his care, be it dentist, ortho, etc. The ortho needs to map out exactly what the plan is, by year, and why, and how he is controlling for growth. If he has braces at 8, are they on his baby teeth or permanent teeth? Given that dentition ages vary, I was just curious.
There is another reason I got worried when I read your post. Short of identifying my exact title, my work involves counseling children and adolescents. I don't mean to sound alarmist or overly dramatic, but the first word that came to mind when I read your post was "trauma." All of us, young and old, have to go through painful and difficult times, but generally they are tolerable if we know what to expect, and why we are going through it. Little children get through chemo this way. They may not understand the mechanics, but they know how long a treatment is, how many there will be, etc, and they learn to live around it.
It sounds like you haven't been given the critical info in order to help your son to understand things, and I would hate for this whole thing to blow up into a situation that really does traumatize him. I imagine his pain is multiplied in you, in that you don't know what to do to help him, and as a mother that is the worst pain of all because it ends up leaving you feeling helpless, when what you want most is to help him.
That being said, I hope you are able to go after, and get, whatever information you feel you need. I am sure you would not want to go to this extreme, but if the ortho really is not cooperative, you might have to consider leaving, for the mental and physical health of your son. Maybe he will be cooperative, but my motto is "be prepared for the worst, hope for the best" so have a plan in place in case he "blows you off." You can always present at another ortho and they will assess what they think is best (take off braces, keep on, long-term plan, etc.). I don't have insurance so I have to pay cash to anyone; you may have restrictions if insurance, military, etc. which may limit flexibility.
I do apologize for the length and "lecture tone" of this post but the spirit is genuine. I think it is great you posted, and I really hope to hear back from you soon.
Best to you and your son!
Allison
[As an open forum, I would like to share my opinion, and YES, I KNOW it will be unpopular, but I would like to voice it.]
I empathize with your concerns for your son. I am in my 40s now, and in my generation, no one got braces before 11 or 12 earliest. And we didn't keel over dead, either. The AOA pushes ortho consults at 7, and I am certain there are clinical reasons, but I think you have a very valid point - at 8 his mouth and teeth are growing so much that no treatment will be permanent, short of maybe an expander.
I am not a dentist or an orthodontist, do please do not think I am trying to give orthodontic advice. I am, unabashedly, sharing the idea that you could take him for a consult at a dental school where they have the full scope of services (potential ortho, surgery, etc) that might be recommended to get a consult that would project long-term, not in the conditional.
As others noted, you need to have a written treatment plan from whoever is in charge of his care, be it dentist, ortho, etc. The ortho needs to map out exactly what the plan is, by year, and why, and how he is controlling for growth. If he has braces at 8, are they on his baby teeth or permanent teeth? Given that dentition ages vary, I was just curious.
There is another reason I got worried when I read your post. Short of identifying my exact title, my work involves counseling children and adolescents. I don't mean to sound alarmist or overly dramatic, but the first word that came to mind when I read your post was "trauma." All of us, young and old, have to go through painful and difficult times, but generally they are tolerable if we know what to expect, and why we are going through it. Little children get through chemo this way. They may not understand the mechanics, but they know how long a treatment is, how many there will be, etc, and they learn to live around it.
It sounds like you haven't been given the critical info in order to help your son to understand things, and I would hate for this whole thing to blow up into a situation that really does traumatize him. I imagine his pain is multiplied in you, in that you don't know what to do to help him, and as a mother that is the worst pain of all because it ends up leaving you feeling helpless, when what you want most is to help him.
That being said, I hope you are able to go after, and get, whatever information you feel you need. I am sure you would not want to go to this extreme, but if the ortho really is not cooperative, you might have to consider leaving, for the mental and physical health of your son. Maybe he will be cooperative, but my motto is "be prepared for the worst, hope for the best" so have a plan in place in case he "blows you off." You can always present at another ortho and they will assess what they think is best (take off braces, keep on, long-term plan, etc.). I don't have insurance so I have to pay cash to anyone; you may have restrictions if insurance, military, etc. which may limit flexibility.
I do apologize for the length and "lecture tone" of this post but the spirit is genuine. I think it is great you posted, and I really hope to hear back from you soon.
Best to you and your son!
Allison